


Pekin

by gremlinny



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Slight Mentions of Gore, mentions of animal abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24872761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gremlinny/pseuds/gremlinny
Summary: The turtleducks in the garden pond are shedding their fuzzy down in favor of waxy waterproof feathers.Zuko dips his hand into the water, pulling out the soggy filaments, and tries not to think of what all the pillows in the palace are stuffed with.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Pekin

**Author's Note:**

> there’s a mention of animal abuse and a general theme of death/pain in this story, and a specific mention of fingernail trauma. The whole thing’s really short, but proceed with caution.

The turtleducks in the garden pond are shedding their fuzzy down in favor of waxy waterproof feathers. 

Zuko dips his hand into the water, pulling out the soggy filaments, and tries not to think of what all the pillows in the palace are stuffed with. Someone had told him once, when he was younger, that plucking birds for their feathers is like ripping out fingernails.   
Maybe it was his mother who told him that, after Zuko had watched Azula tear fistfuls of feathers from the turtleducks.  
Maybe Azula told him, and set out to demonstrate. 

Every pillow and comforter in the palace is stuffed full with down and feathers.  
He can’t sleep here anymore.

This is not the turning point—he’d reached that long ago—but it makes so much sense anyway. It drives the point home.

Everything the fire nation has is built on death and pain, and nothing is spared from the cruelty. He thinks of how different it would be if the pillows were full with fingernails, if the pond flowed with the blood of everyone killed by fire nation soldiers.

The eclipse is coming soon.

Hemp and cotton are better stuffings anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m castledock on tumblr


End file.
